UFC Plans March 2013 Return to Japan

When the UFC returned to the land of the rising sun for UFC 144: Edgar Vs. Henderson this passed February, it marked the promotion’s venture into Japan in over a decade. The promotion invaded the Saitama Super Arena, the home of their former rival, PRIDE FC, posting a live attendance of around 20k for the big event. It would seem that the UFC already has designs on heading back to Japan.

According to NikkanSports.com, the octagon will once again take center stage at the Saitama Super Arena, with MMA Weekly indicating that it will take place on March 3.

While the Japanese MMA market has fallen far from where it stood at the height of PRIDE, seeing promotions such as DREAM fail at recapturing the magic, the UFC is hellbent on making a slow but steady push into the market, rebuilding it while further pushing their brand worldwide.